BBC books ‘Soldier’

Pubcaster's film arm to make McNab, Rigby pics

LONDON — BBC Films has picked up the film rights to Andy McNab and Robert Rigby’s best-selling thriller “Boy Soldier” and its sequel “Payback.”

“Boy Soldier” tracks efforts of a young man to trace his grandfather, a disgraced former member of British special forces, the SAS. The first in a series of four books, rights have been sold in more than 10 major territories, including the U.S.

McNab and Rigby are currently scripting the movie adaptation.

McNab, a former member of the SAS himself, wrote about his experiences in two bestsellers, “Bravo Two Zero,” which was made into a film starring Sean Bean in 1998, and “Immediate Action.”

Rigby, a former journalist, is a young people’s playwright who now works mainly in television. Scripts include BBC children’s drama series, “Byker Grove.”